Glasgow Uni moves forward with new engineering building

27 Feb Architect Woods Bagot has been appointed to design a new building to house Glasgow University’s School of Engineering as part of a £1bn development project.

The building is part of the university’s Campus Development Programme, which is redeveloping the 14 acre site of the former Western Infirmary in Glasgow’s West End.

Teaching spaces and laboratories will be included in the new building. A particular focus will be the Creativity Lab, which will accommodate workshops, plus advanced visualisation and data analysis facilities. The idea is that students will be able to develop as creative engineers, including engaging with industry and building teams for international engineering competitions.

The building is intended to be a living laboratory, driven by ‘smart building’ and ‘smart campus’ technologies. Researchers and students will be able to make use of the building’s energy and structural performance data and new technologies can be researched and tested.

, University of Glasgow professor of Ultrasonics Margaret Lucas, who leads the project, said: “Glasgow is renowned for engineering innovation, and the discoveries made here have shaped the world around us for centuries. This is now an opportunity to change how we do engineering at the University of Glasgow, and create our future world-shaping engineering heritage.

“Our vision is a building that not only supports world-class learning and teaching, but is also a collaborative and creative space, helping to drive discovery, innovation and entrepreneurship for our students, staff and wider community.

“Working with the team at Woods Bagot is an exciting collaboration for us, to develop a new unique and iconic home for Engineering at the University of Glasgow.”

Woods Bagot orincipal Jonathan Leah said: “We are delighted to be collaborating with the University of Glasgow and its passionate and engaged group of stakeholders to provide user-centric solutions that address the Engineering Building’s needs now and well into the future.”